Happy New Year early! At the end of the year, gasoline prices in the Bitterroot Valley, and much of the rest of Montana, fell below $3 a gallon. The price hit $2.98 for regular unleaded at many of Hamilton's stations. Similar prices were found by AAA Montana at Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, He…

Thanks to a steep drop in crude-oil prices, gas costs have fallen below $3 a gallon in parts of Michigan, Missouri and Texas, and are expected to decline in many other states as well.Call it an unexpected bright spot in the global economic crisis. Now that drivers have cut back on trips, shippers ar…